Art of producing receptacles



10, 1942. c. K. BILLEB 2,301,771

ART OF PRODUCING RECEPTACLES Filed June 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVE TOR BY ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1942. c. K. BlLLEB 2,301,771

ART OF PRODUCING RECEPTACLES Filed June 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN ENTOB JKEM Z/Ww ATTORN Y Patented Nov. 10, 1942 ART OF PRODUCING RECEPTACLES Clyde K. Billeb, Shorewood, Wis., assignor to Milprlnt, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application June 10, 1940, Serial No. 339,681

Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of producing receptacles, and relates more specifically to an improved method of and means for manufacturing bags or pouches from a continuously advancing web of relatively thin sheet material.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved method of producing bag-like receptacles from a longitudinally advancing web of relatively thin and flexible sheet material, in an expeditious and efficient manner.

Many different methods and machines have heretofore been utilized with varying degrees of success, for the purpose of manufacturing bags and pouches from constantly advancing ribbons or webs of sheet material such as tissue or glassine paper, regenerated cellulose, and stabilized rubber hydrochloride. With these prior bag forming processes and mechanisms, the web of stock is usually folded and glued into tubular.

formation while travelling longitudinally, and successive sections are severed from the tube and have an end thereof closed in any suitable manner to complete the bags. This procedure produces bags or pouches each having a bottom seam and another seam extending from the mid-portion of the bottom to the top centrally of one of the side walls, and also requires two separate and individual operations to form the two seams. While this type of receptacle is suitable for some uses, it is objectionable for other purposes, and the time required to perform the two independent operations slows up the rate of production. It is also frequently desirable to produce bags or pouches of this kind, wherein the front and rear walls are of different length or height measured from the bottom edge of the receptacle, so that more or less of a projection is formed on one wall which may be lapped over the adjacent free edge of the shorter wall when'closing the package, and such pouches heretofore required the use of complicated mechanisms for their production especially if the size of the projection was to be varied throughout a considerable range. t

It is therefore an object of my present invention to provide a new and useful method of manufacturing bags or pouches from sheet stock, whereby the total number of operations are reduced to a minimum, by simultaneously sealing the corresponding ends of adjoining successive bags and by severing the stock medially of the sealed areas, thus requiring only one operation to seal the bottoms or the adjacent sides of two adjoining receptacles.

Another specific object of my invention is to provide an improved method of varying the relative lengths or heights of the rear and front walls of bags or pouches produced from a rapidly advancing ribbon or web of sheet stock.

A further specific object of the invention is to provide a method of rapidly and effectively producing a succession of pouches which are seamed only at their opposite sides, and which are devoid of seams at the bottom and intermediate their sides.

An additional specific object of this invention is to provide simple and efllcient apparatus for automatically producing improved bags or pouches from relatively thin sheet stock and in rapid succession.

Still another specific object of the present invention is to provide a compact and durable machine for quickly forming successive pouches from a rapidly advancing web of sheet material such as glassine paper, Cellophane, Pliofilm, or the like, and wherein the relative length or heights of the walls of each pouch may be varied without necessarily interrupting the operation of the machine.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the steps of my improved method and of the construction and operation of mechanism for facilitating commercial exploitation thereof, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the sam or similar parts in the various views. i

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a skeleton of the apparatus for carrying on my improved bag or pouch making method;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one complete pouch and of portions of two adjacent pouches;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the initial supply and folding portion of the pouch making apparatus; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the heat sealing and cutting portion of the pouch making mechanism.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as being especially adapted for the production of pouches for packing cheese or the like, and formed of a web of thin transparent sheet material such as Cellophane" or "Pliofilm. it is not my desire or intent to'thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope or utility of the improvement.

Referring to the drawings, the improved mechanism for carrying on my present improved method of making receptacles, comprises in general, a vertically adjustable rotary spindle 3 having thereon a platform I, both adapted to support a supply roll 8 of printed or plain web stock in approximately upright position; a guide roll 9 coacting with the advancing web III as it leaves the supply roll 8, and having a pair of oppositely inclined web folding rods |I, |2 diverging from the opposite ends thereof; a set of upper and lower draw rolls 3 adapted to coact with the web I after it has been longitudinally folded by the rods I2; upper and lower revolving and cooperating heat sealers |4, I5 respectively, adapted to intermittently coact with the folded web l after leaving the draw rolls l3; a set of guiding and feeding rollers l3 coacting with the advancing folded and transversely sealed web I0 after it leaves the zone of action of the sealers HI, H; a pair of cooperating cut-off rolls l1, l8 adapted to subsequently coact with the folded and locally sealedweb I0 after it passes the rollers IE, to cut the Web In into successive pouches l9; and a breaker lement 28 coacting with a roller 2| and with the successive pouches III to quickly remove the finished articles from the machine.

The mill or supply roll supporting spindle 6 may be mounted for rotation in upper and lower bearings 22, 23 respectively, and this spindle 6 together with its platform I may be adjusted vertically by means of a set screw 24 to vary the position of contact of the Web ID with the fixed guide rods l2. If the position of the supply roll 8 is such, that the web 8 contacts *the rods I, I2 equidistant from the apex of the triangle formed by these rods, then the web will be folded along a line 25 which is midway between its opposite edges 26, 21, and both the front wall 28 and the rear wall 29 will be of the same height or length measured from the fold line 25, see Fig. 2. If the web supply roll 8 is lowered so that the lower edge 21 of the web I0 is folded about the lower inclined rod |2 before the upper edge 26 reaches the upper inclined rod N, then the fold line 25 will be offcenter as in Fig. 2, and the front or top wall 28 will be of less width or height than the rear or lower wall 28, and a projection 30 will be formed on the rear wall 28 of each Ipouch I91. The size of this projection 30 may be varied by varying the extent of lowering of the roll 8; and if the supply roll 8 is elevated instead of lowered from mid position, then the projection 30 will be formed on the upper or front wall 28 instead of on the lower or rear wall 29 of each pouch IS. The supply roll 8 may obviously be thus vertically adjusted by manipulation of the adjusting screw 24, while the machine is operating and web I0 is being withdrawn from the supply roll 8.

The draw rolls I3 and thefe'ed rolls I6 are continuously rotatable in unison, but at selected speeds, by means of gearing 3|, and the sealers I4, l5 which are heated electrically are revolv-- able at uniform speed by the same gearing. If the speed of the rolls I3, I6 is reduced, the web III will be advanced at a slower rate of speed than if the rolls l3, I6 are speeded up, and in this manner the length or width of the pouches I8 may be varied throughout a considerable range. The upper sealer H is provided with a pair of parallel ridgesl32 which are cooperable with an elongated anvil 33 on the lower sealer |5, to produce transverse laterally spaced par- 7 allel heat seals 34, 34' on the folded ribbon or web I0; and the revolving cutter roll I! is provided with a blade 35 which is cooperable with an anvil block 36 on the roll I8 and which'is so timed that it will sever the advancing locally sealed web III between each set of complementary seals 34, 34', see Figs. 1 and 2. In this manner, adjacent ends of adjoining successive pouches I9 are simultaneously sealed during each revolution of the sealers l4, l5 and contacting thereof with the folded advancing web, and while heat sealing is possible with Pliofilm, other types of sealing as by gluing, may be substituted, when heat sealing cannot be utilized.

The rolls |3, |8, |I, |8, the sealers l4, I5, and the breaker element 20 and roller 2| may be provided with adjusting mechanisms 31 and with tensioning springs as shown generally in Figs. 3 and 4, for insuring proper cooperation thereof with the advancing web l0 and pouches 9; and the breaker element 20 and roller 2| cutter roll I! with felt and to provide strands of tinsel or the like in order to release static electricity from the advancing Web ID and pouches I9. The gearing 3| and the various other elements of the mechanism may be driven.

from a common motor or other power source in any suitable manner, and while the sealers H, l5 are shown as being electrically heated, these may be, heated by steam or otherwise.

During normal operation of theimproved machine in carrying on my improved process,'the mechanism is being constantly operated to continuously revolve the rolls l3, l6, l1, |8, 2|, 39, the sealers |l, l5, and the element 20, and the web I0 is being constantly withdrawn from the supply roll 8 and is being folded by the inclined rods l2, and by the draw rolls l3 cooperating therewith, As the sealers |4, |5 engage the longitudinally folded web I, they intermittently produce the local complementary seals 34, 34. The feed rolls l8 then advance the locally sealed web It past the cutting mechanism, and the knife 35 cooperating with the anvil block 33 severs the advancing ribbon intermediate each complementary set of seals 34, 34', into successive completed pouches l9. These successive pouches l9 are rapidly withdrawn from the zone of severance by the element 20 and roller 2|, and by the final rolls 39, and are delivered from the machine in stacked relationship. The web material' may be printed in any suitable fashion before being delivered to the machine, and by vertically adjusting the spindle 6 and the mill roll supporting plate I, any desired overlap 30 may be produced on each pouch IS. The length of the pouches Hi from one seal 34, to the other seal 34' may be varied by varying the speed of rotation of the rolls .|3, |6, so that the process may be effectively utilized to produce pouches of different shapes and sizes.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that my present invention provides an improved process of producing successive receptacles or pouches l9, in a most expeditious and efficient manner. The characteristics of the successive pouches can be quickly altered to meet different conditions, and by providing complementary end seals ll, It, only one sealing operation is required for each final pouch It since only half an operation is required for each end seal. The pouches I! which are produced by the improved method. have no seams along the bottom edge 25 and likewise are unseamed between the opposite end portions. The seals 34, 34 provide the only seams, and the remainder of each bag or pouch is devoid of seams. The overlap 30 is useful for tucking purposes when utilizing the pouches [9 to wrap batches of cheese or similar material, and the projections 30 may be varied to suit different conditions by merely manipulating the adjusting screw 24, during continued operation of the machine. The severance of the Web ID between complementary seals 34, 34 is also of importance since it permits production of successive bags or pouches at maximum speed, and this feature may obviously be utilized even in cases where the pouches or bags are made from tubular web stock. In that case the bags may be formed with the bottom of one bag adjoining the bottom of the next bag, and in this manner the speed of production of such bags may be materially enhanced. The present invention has proven highly practical in actual commercial use, especially in connection with material such as Pliofilm, but the process may obviously be utilized in conjunction with other sheet materials.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact steps of the process or to the precise details of construction of the apparatus, herein shown and described,"for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In combination, an approximately upright shaft rotatably Journalled in upper and lower guide bearings and supported to revolve upon a lower thrust bearing and having a platform rotatable therewith for rotatably supporting a roll of web stock embracing the medial portion of the shaft, means for withdrawing the web from said roll, a pair of round rods converging from the ends of said roll for folding the advancing web into a ribbon having confronting walls travelling in a plane transversely of the roll axis, and means for effecting vertical adjustment of said lower thrust bearing to shift said rotating shaft and roll along the common axis thereof and thereby vary the relative widths of said ribbon walls.

2. In combination, an approximately upright shaft rotatably journalled in upper and lower guide bearings and supported to revolve upon a lower thrust bearing and having a platform rotatable therewith for rotatably supporting a roll of web stock embracing the medial portion of the shaft. a pair of coasting rolls for withdrawing the web from said supply roll and for finally folding the advancing web into a ribbon having confronting walls travelling in a plane transversely of the shaft axis, a pair of circular rods converging from the opposite ends of said supply roll toward a point intermediate the ends of and midway between said folding rolls for gradually initially folding the advancing web, and means for effecting vertical adjustment of said lower thrust bearing to shift said rotating shaft and supply roll along the common axis thereof and thereby vary the relative widths of said ribbon walls.

3. In combination, means for rotatably supporting a roll of web stock with the roll axis approximately vertical, a pair of coacting rolls for withdrawing the web from said supply roll and for finally folding the advancing web into a ribbon having confronting walls travelling in a plane transversely of the supply roll axis, a tension roller disposed parallel to and closely adjacent to the stock roll, a pair of round rods converging from the opposite ends of said tension roller toward a point intermediate the ends of and midway between said folding rolls for gradually initially folding the advancing web, and means for effecting vertical adjustment of said supply roll to vary the position of the web fold line.

4. In combination, means for rotatably supporting a roll of web stock, a pair of coacting rolls for withdrawing the web from said supply roll and for finally folding the advancing web into a ribbon having confronting walls travelling in a plane transversely of the supply roll axis, a tension roller disposed closely adjacent to the stock supply roll, a pair of round rods converging from the opposite ends of said tension roller toward a point intermediate the ends of said folding rolls for gradually initially folding the advancing web, and means for effecting bodily adjustment of said supply roll to vary the position of the web fold line.

5. In combination, means for rotatably supporting a. roll of web stock, a pair of coacting folding rolls for withdrawing the web from said supply roll and for finally folding the advancing web into a ribbon having confronting walls travelling in a plane approximately perpendicular to the supply roll axis, a tension roller disposed closely adjacent to the stock sup-ply roll and approximately parallel to the axis thereof, and a pair of round rods converging from the opposite ends of said tension roller toward a point intermediate the ends of said folding rolls for gradually initially folding the web.

CLYDE K. BILLEB. 

